S05.E01: All Star Variety Extravaganza

[OnceSane]

Quote

Ten All Stars arrive in the Werk Room and open the library for a reading mini-challenge -- with surprise guest judge Ricky Martin; next they hit the stage to headline the \"Werq the World\" Variety Extravaganza; RuPaul reveals new twists in the rules.

Airs June 5, 2020.

[screengem]

The new twists are as follows

Drag Race All Stars has become notorious among fans for changing its rules regularly and seemingly for no reason, and Season 5 will not be an exception to this.

Where in the most recent seasons each challenge has been won by two queens who then "Lip-Sync for their Legacy" and the chance to eliminate a competitor, this season will be different. Each challenge will have one winner, who then lip-syncs against a special guest "mysterious lip-sync assassin" (according to a VH1 press release).

If the challenge winner wins, they get the usual $10,000 prize and elimination powers, but if they lose the queen eliminated is chosen by a group vote and the prize money rolls over to the next challenge.

RuPaul called these rules, "so twisted it's guaranteed to twist your twisted minds," and they are sure to make the always unpredictable All Stars even more unstable.

RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 5 starts June 5 at 8 p.m. ET on VH1

 

Edited June 1, 2020 by screengem

[Keywestclubkid]

The cattiness that was missing from drag race 12 is back lol 

[Supagirl]

Oh damn...Derrick with his two boyfriends. Okay then.

Blair St. Clair has a point:  this is All-Stars, you have to feel like you belong there and deserve to win. It’s hard to watch Ongina and Alexis waffle a little bit.

Ricky Martin adds nothing.

Edited June 6, 2020 by Supagirl

[Ananayel]

I love me some Miz Cracker and Jujubee. If they were F2, I woudn't be at all mad. As much as I love them, that's how much I intensely dislike India Ferrah. Intensely, so hope that relatively decent performance that she had ample time to prepare was all she's got, and it's downhill to a rapid elimination from here. There's no point in her being here now that Derrick is gone so that drama is toast. Though I'm sure she would come up with more, and I don't want to watch that after the pleasure that was S12.

Also love Mariah, Ongina, and Shea, kind of meh on Alexis and Blair, and I don't think I ever "got" Mayhem, but she's okay. Nice seeing Yvie again for sure.

 

[Dewey Decimate]

29 minutes ago, Ananayel said:

I love me some Miz Cracker and Jujubee. If they were F2, I woudn't be at all mad

Nice seeing Yvie again for sure.

Seconded! Jujubee and Miz Cracker are my by-far favorites. Love me a cute and funny queen. Ongina is adorable but not long for this comp. I remember really liking Alexis her first season, and even though I seem to recall some negative stuff (maybe? I'm too lazy to research online) from later times, her presence makes me feel warm and nostalgic for those early seasons. And she did look lovely in orange. I cannot get enough Yvie, and loved that she got to go on-brand loco for the lip sync. The assasin idea is clever - I'll be looking forward to seeing who's brought in each week.

[JakeyJokes]

I wonder if Derrick talking about India’s “toxic online posts” include her being a Vegas Truther and putting up sex videos on OnlyFans without mutual consent, but the show won’t go there. But, yes, I remember India posting about how it was bogus that Nebraska got the gig at Piranha, and I’m sure there’s a feeling that Nebraska hasn’t paid her dues, but ... that’s show biz, kid.

I’ve met Derrick and Nebraska in person and they’re lovely, but Derrick did a cardinal sin of comedy: You don’t leave the stage on a dud of a joke. I’m also curious as to why ONLY Jujubee voted for Mayhem. Is it that so many now work in L.A.? Could it also be that they’d rather share a work room with Mayhem? Hmmmm ...

What I *really* miss about viewing parties is seeing who does and doesn’t get the biggest cheers during their work room entrances! 

Interested to see alliances. Not necessarily as overt as India and Mayhem, but we have three S3 girls and three S10 girls. It’s also fun to see the dynamic of the younger girls who literally grew up watching the older ones, and if the older girls feel flattered or threatened by that.
 

 

[zenithwit]

I'm just happy that Ongina wasn't eliminated in the first episode.  She's so sweet and I'm excited that she's getting the exposure with the larger VH1 audience.  And her entrance look was amazing!  But her talent show performance wasn't super strong (though it was smart to do a RuPaul/Drag Race-themed medley).  I feel like she would have been eliminated if she was in the bottom two.

I like Blair St. Clair but it felt like she was trying too hard to have a large personality in this episode.

What's the probability that we'll get an Alexis vs Vanjie Mateo lip sync in the future?

Lastly, I'm sure I'll get used to the new rules but they seem kinda complicated.  Upon initial inspection, I wasn't sure why the winning queen would actually want to win the lip sync and create bad blood with a fellow queen.  Plus, the lip sync assassin gets an extra advantage of being able to tailor her outfit to the song (whereas the contestants' outfits will be tailored to the runway category).  But now knowing that the tip money rolls over each week, I'm sure the weekly winners will pull out all of the stops to win (especially as the cash prize exceeds 20-30 grand).

[Ananayel]

On All-Stars they have been able to change out of the runway outfits for the lip syncs.

I was expecting Ricky Martin to appear in Untucked - did he and I just missed it? He may not have been a Leslie Jones in terms of overt enthusiasm, but dang he's attractive.

[violet and green]

Oh, gee. I am super bummed Derrick Barry got the boot so early on. I wish she'd just done a Britney act, and got read by Ru and/or Michelle for it, and stuck around a bit longer. "I Wanna Go" - with Heidi 'N' Closet's "Fuck, you, fuck you, fuck you, and fuck you" finale handwash clip doctored in somehow post-production - would've been nice.

I thought the judging sucked, totally. The safe four, I'd assumed would be the top four. The top three were all dance numbers and maybe that's just more fun to watch as a crowd/in studio, but onscreen Indiah's was just high-energy and messy. I'd have given Mz Cracker the win out of those three.

I loathe Indiah Ferrah, and her win was to my mind a cynical ploy to drum up drama for the episode, from pre-existing drama, and Derrick was the disposable pawn.

The new twist is fun. It gives a bottom two girl a fighting chance. Mayhem bores me. Derrick may be limited, but within those limits I find a lot of charm in her act. So I am super disappointed that the group as a whole (apart from the discerning Jujubee!) voted for her, too.

The plus side of the episode was Jujubee's beautiful song and talking heads. I loved Blair's makeup. And Yvie Oddly was a real treat to see again.

I also like that Derrick left well, in the untucked ep. Sometimes the exits are too hard to bear.

26 minutes ago, Ananayel said:

I was expecting Ricky Martin to appear in Untucked - did he and I just missed it?

He did, I'm pretty sure. Wasn't the section where they played Cierto or Falso in Untucked?

[bobbyjoe]

Quote

What's the probability that we'll get an Alexis vs Vanjie Mateo lip sync in the future?

I‘ll be shocked if we don’t see this— it just feels like too much of exactly the kind of thing they like for Ru and the producers not to engineer this sometime this season.  I bet Ru had Vanjie on speed-dial for the second Alexis won a week!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

One of the reasons I love All Stars (aside from giving some queens who were robbed a chance to redeem themselves) is that I don't have to spend the first four episodes trying to figure out who the hell all these people are (although to be honest, there were some I didn't remember even after we got flashback clips from their original seasons).

It cracked me up so many of the queens were immediately and unabashedly interested in the Derrick/India drama. I loved that Ongina didn't even try to hide it and told one of them that she loves gossip and wanted to know what happened. Points for honesty!

I love Ongina so she was the queen I was most excited to see. I loved her costume in the workroom but she bombed the reading challenge. I don't know if she's just too nice or what but I was disappointed in her attempts. Her dance act was not bad (and I enjoyed the costume change) but it wasn't great. Step it up, girl. I want you to slay!

Jujubee, on the other hand, was HILARIOUS in the reading challenge. I was a fan during her original season and she looks even more beautiful now. She was great in the variety show. She is a good singer but she didn't rely on her vocal talent. She really performed the song and conveyed what she was feeling in a genuine way.

Derrick said she was too focused on being a Britney impersonator the first time around and this is her chance to show how much she has grown since then, but all we got was more Britney looks. I get using that for her workroom entrance because she wanted people to remember who she was but then she dressed like Britney for the talent show. Her impersonations were not funny and most of them were not recognizable. Maybe if she had more time to set up each impersonation or give them some context, they would have been funnier or more recognizable but what she did for the variety show was a mess.

Her excuse to the other queens in the work room about how if she had worn their costumes, she would be this Britney or that Britney just says to me that she doesn't know how to do anything else. You can wear someone else's costume and not look like Britney but it means you have to be willing to change your hair and makeup. How do I know this? Because Miz Cracker didn't look like Dream Within a Dream Britney, Jujubee didn't look like red carpet Britney, and Shea didn't look like Toxic Britney.

India Ferrah was one of the queens who I had absolutely no recollection of even after all the clips from her original season. She definitely knows how to paint her face. In drag, she has a very pretty face. Out of drag, she looks like a regular guy. The transformation is really remarkable and it's all due to her makeup skills. I had to laugh at her "Drag Is Not a Contact Sport" song. It was smart to use her memorable moment with Mimi Imfurst to her advantage. She was a decent dancer but she elevated that with her performance (although I don't think it was the best out of all the performances which makes me think that Ru knew Derrick did poorly and then gave India the win for the drama of it all). It cracked me up that when Ricky Martin and Mayhem Miller both tried to imitate her hair whipping and immediately regretted it.

Blair looked stunning during the variety show, but if you're going to sing as your talent then you have to be amazing. She was fine and inoffensive but her act was forgettable.

Mayhem Miller's performance started out strong. Her vivid contacts combined with the blinking made me laugh. But she lost me during the song because I couldn't understand all the lyrics. She looked beautiful though. I loved that before she went to talk to India, she said she was in mock trial and had been to court many times.

Miz Cracker knows that the strongest defense is a good offense. During her workroom entrance, she introduced herself by saying that she'd gained 35 pounds which took away the opportunity for anyone to make a crack about her gaining weight. Her variety show performance had the same air about it, making fun of her own dancing skills, etc. She is an entertainer so she knows how to put on a show.

Mariah Paris Balenciaga's performance art was definitely memorable. I laughed when one of the queens referred to her as Maya Angelou.

Alexis Mateo had such a polished performance during the variety show. Ha, and it was good enough for Michelle to excuse her 1" heels!

Shea Coulée's pole dancing performance was disappointing. I expected a lot more pole dancing. Instead she mostly used it as a prop and did a scant handful of pole dancing.

Yvie Oddly did an awesome job in the lip sync. The assassins should get $10K if they win.

Edited June 7, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo
Misspelled a queen's name

[violet and green]

1 hour ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Shea Coulée's pole dancing performance was disappointing. I expected a lot more pole dancing. Instead she mostly used it as a prop and did a scant handful of pole dancing.

She's only been doing pole dancing for twelve days, she said.

[Keywestclubkid]

10 hours ago, Supagirl said:

Oh damn...Derrick with his two boyfriends. Okay then.

you can tell which one is the real bf and which was "added" with the whole see you soon baby ... and the other calling him "buddy" lol

[gorgy]

Congrats to the old school queens for outperforming the new school. I'm not sure if I like the new format as it gives the producers even more of an opportunity to brazenly manipulate the show. Knowing the name on both lip stick vote means if both have the same name picked, then they don't even have to give a particular queen that week's $10k tip and save it for somebody else. Also, there was no way they were going to have a past winner lose the lip sync. I'd still like to see a season where there's a running point system, and no queens leave until like half-way through. There's plenty of room for producer manipulation and drama this way, as well.

As far as the talent show, most were pretty good. I personally found Mariah and Jujubee the most interesting in this challenge. I was so surprised Jujubee can sing really well and Mariah's performance was so thoughtful and unique, especially coming from a so-called "pageant" queen. India and Alexis, while both well-performed well, they felt similar in terms of talent, so I'm not sure why India got the win. Ongina is so genial, so I'm happy she's still around, but her performance was on the weaker side.

Shea Couleé's performance was underwhelming. I bet it would've been better seeing it in person, but there was a loss in emotion watching it on tv. PLUS, how many strippers have you seen perform in kneepads? I was so distracted by that.

I have a hard time rooting for Ms. Cracker. I find her amusing but not really funny. I like most of her outfits, but not on her. Maybe it's because she always comes off as rehearsed to me, but I've never warmed to her.

Speaking of someone that leaves me cold, Mayhem Miller is so mundane. It's like she's so polished and smooth that she slides right past me, and I have nothing to hold on to. The only impression she ever leaves on me is when she does a bad job in a challenge. 

Continuing my bashing of the new school girls, we have Blair St. Clair. I'm not a fan of her new drag simply because it ages her so much. During the talking heads, she's a 12 year old boy, and in drag she looks like the cougar mom on some teen drama on The CW. Plus, her performance was really blah.

Who's left? Oh right, Derrick. I liked the idea of the voices, but the performance wasn't strong enough. If Derrick picked a few Las Vegas staples like Cher or whomever having  a conversation with her that could have worked, but throwing voices out there left and right likes she's Rich Little is not her thing. I could write more on Derrick but I've grown tired. 

 Overall, I'm expecting more drama to be brought by the old school girls that some may have found lacking in season 12. It should be interesting, nevertheless.

 

 

Edited June 6, 2020 by gorgy

[Not4Me]

2 hours ago, gorgy said:

Congrats to the old school queens for outperforming the new school.

Except for Ongina....GURRRLLL! Those reads! And that dance was soooo sloppy. I adore her but the show changed drastically since the pilot season so I’m not sure if this is the right format for her.

Loved JuJu’s performance even though she was singing to a pre-recorded vocal, they should have switched her with Cracker for top contender. Blair, on the other hand, chose to bravely sing live and I could think of was Coco Montrese saying: “Gurrrrl, find the note!”.

Loved Alexis, I think she should have won ultimately based on the performance. I’d love to have seen her lipsync against Yvie.

Derrick’s delusional camera time was welcome, including the fact that he consistently looked like Britney throughout the episode while he was saying otherwise. He’s entertaining villain fodder in the vein of Gia Gunn. 

I’m kind of excited for Mariah, I liked her performance even if it was a bit risky. And I’m sure Ricky Martin’s compliments flooded her basement. He was a nice guest!

Shea is on the cusp of looking a bit pinched there, but facially she looks stunning!

[Rai]

8 hours ago, Keywestclubkid said:

you can tell which one is the real bf and which was "added" with the whole see you soon baby ... and the other calling him "buddy" lol

Derrick was part of a triad relationship back in season 8, but even if one guy was newer to their partnership than the other, this would still be an offensive way to discuss it. They're both his "real" boyfriends, and they each have his own way of expressing support.

That said, I didn't mind his leaving so soon. I feel sympathy for his frustration because living his drag life as Britney does feel like his real drag self, but he needed to take a page from Crystal Methyd's book if he wanted to stay longer and find a way to adapt his drag to the competition.

I think JuJubee was ROBBED. And Alexis Mateo too, if Jujubee wasn't going to be the winner of this challenge. Sure, Indiah turned it out, but I feel like that's as good as she's going to get. Not feeling her.

Miz Cracker though, I will always adore. And Mariah's piece was terrific, especially given the intensity of this week. She should've been in the top as well.

Anyway, into this season so far!

[Keywestclubkid]

48 minutes ago, Rai said:

Derrick was part of a triad relationship back in season 8, but even if one guy was newer to their partnership than the other, this would still be an offensive way to discuss it. They're both his "real" boyfriends, and they each have his own way of expressing support.

That said, I didn't mind his leaving so soon. I feel sympathy for his frustration because living his drag life as Britney does feel like his real drag self, but he needed to take a page from Crystal Methyd's book if he wanted to stay longer and find a way to adapt his drag to the competition.

I think JuJubee was ROBBED. And Alexis Mateo too, if Jujubee wasn't going to be the winner of this challenge. Sure, Indiah turned it out, but I feel like that's as good as she's going to get. Not feeling her.

Miz Cracker though, I will always adore. And Mariah's piece was terrific, especially given the intensity of this week. She should've been in the top as well.

Anyway, into this season so far!

I stand by my post... it’s my opinion 

Edited June 6, 2020 by Keywestclubkid

[Rai]

It may be your opinion, but it being an offensive one is a fact. And during Pride month, it seems especially tone deaf to double down on mocking the way Derrick has found love and family. I don't want to derail the topic any more, but just because you don't understand something, it's not automatically okay to make fun of it. It's pretty antithetical to the spirit of the show, IMO.

[belligerent]

I feel bad for Derrick in some ways because I'm not sure he doesn't have residual issues from coming out to his mom, thinking she'd totally accept him, and her having a bad reaction. Like being himself is too painful so he has to be someone else all the time? In other ways, I don't feel bad for him because he is kind of a dick to people when they don't always deserve it, and his own insecurities are not really an excuse to treat people poorly.

Either way, I don't think he's a "fun" villain because it's hard for me to watch his house of cards collapse in slow motion, so I'm glad he's gone. At least in the first season, he seemed more confident in his delusion which ironically made him more enjoyable to root against.

I really enjoyed seeing Yvie. What she does is mesmerizing. It's not just her body and contortion, but how she emotes and really everything she puts into the performance.

I'm also excited to see Jujubee again.

[Keywestclubkid]

15 minutes ago, Rai said:

It may be your opinion, but it being an offensive one is a fact. And during Pride month, it seems especially tone deaf to double down on mocking the way Derrick has found love and family. I don't want to derail the topic any more, but just because you don't understand something, it's not automatically okay to make fun of it. It's pretty antithetical to the spirit of the show, IMO.

Again my opinion.. has a gay person during pride month i am allowed this opinion just like has a gay person  during any other month to have this opinion. This show thrives on stereotyping so to try to say this show is all about love and accepting everyone  when it’s not I’m just gonna leave alone. Remember if you don’t say it while the camera is rolling it doesn’t matter *Rupaul Charles* behind the scenes of this show 

Edited June 6, 2020 by Keywestclubkid

[Rai]

I don't follow this logic since Derrick's relationship was shown on camera during both season 8 and this episode. So it's been supported and normalized by that inclusion and "counts," whatever that means.

(And not that I should have to say this, but as a non-monogamous person, I'm tired of similar relationships derided as "fake" or incapable of being true, loving connections. But since I don't want this to take over the whole thread, I'll stop now.)

[Glade]

I thought Mariah was the best, followed by Alexis [she defended shitty pie/blamed the victims though, so I can't stan her] not India who seemingly was only cast so that Derrick could read her [which she did, successfully.]  Ongina's performance was just sad, I was wowed by her entrance look but I don't think she is bringing anything else, surely India can go home before her, though.   Miz Cracker's was boring and predictable.  I think I preferred Blair's vintage drag.  I definitely support Derrick's relationship and it's validity, even though I don't like her drag.  The dress/look that Jujube sported the entire episode was too basic. 

The new rules feel unnecessarily complicated, and may still result in the best queens being sent home out of spite.  Yvie was amazing, though I winced knowing what that's doing to her body.  Honestly I think Mariah may be the dark horse of this competition; her ballroom skills are amazing and unlike what everyone else is bringing. 

Edited June 7, 2020 by Glade

[ElectricBoogaloo]

11 hours ago, gorgy said:

Blair St. Clair. I'm not a fan of her new drag simply because it ages her so much. During the talking heads, she's a 12 year old boy, and in drag she looks like the cougar mom on some teen drama on The CW.

Ha, this made me laugh so hard! It's true though. She still looks like an adolescent boy out of drag but when she's made up, she would definitely fit into the Dynasty reboot!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

17 hours ago, violet and green said:

She's only been doing pole dancing for twelve days, she said.

She really should have picked something else for her act then. Pole dancing is an art. It shouldn't be used as a prop. I would be just as offended if she used aerial silks. lyra, or trapeze as a prop and then did a few tricks at the end.

[swanpride]

I wish that Derrick could have stuck around a little bit longer. But honestly...I think that the whole "be more than Britney" BS doesn't really help her. If she feels comfortable being Britney what the hell is wrong with it? It annoyed me during her original season (especially since I remembered that Courtney Act also always wore "pretty girl make-up" all the time and was never read for it), and it did annoy me this time too. I would have loved to get to see her Britney act, but there was no way that she would do it because naturally she has gotten in her head that she has to show that she is more than Britney, no matter how much people love her as Britney. Thus said, she clearly had the weakest performance of them all.

All this said, the whole winning part was BS. No way India had one of the best performances, it was just messy dancing to a joke which stopped being funny after the first time, I had her towards the bottom. I am convinced that she was there because Ru realised that Derrick wouldn't survive this episode and this was the last opportunity to create some drama between those two.

And I am doubly salty about it because it lead to Cracker getting pushed back on second place. She clearly had the best performance of them all. In a year, I won't remember most of what the queens did, but I'll remember that pickle costume.

[853fisher]

I was a little underwhelmed by most of the performances, to be honest, but I think the queens will have much more to show us as the season goes on.  I tend to gravitate toward the comedy or recitative performances, and probably liked Mariah's the best.  It couldn't have been more timely!  But even then, I wanted a bit more from the visual.  It felt like she only had a thimbleful of paint in those buckets.

India's win did feel very scripted to me, both from "drama with Derrick" and "everyone is wondering what she's her for" angles.  I enjoyed her but wouldn't've put her on top.  And I know what you're all thinking.  Producer manipulation?  On Drag Race?!  No, it couldn't be.

I feel for Ongina.  Her most memorable moments for me were a bit stripped down, which isn't something the show does much anymore.  I am hoping she will dust herself off and surprise us with something to match her entrance look next week.

I didn't connect with Derrick on her original season, but didn't like watching her break down then or now.  She might've been perceived differently had she not put quite so much of a lampshade on things.  Perhaps more of this is producer-driven than I think, but she didn't have to come in as Britney with a Britney line.  She could've used her vocal chops in a non-Britney-style performance instead of the impressions.  With a few adjustments, in general, her look could still be a polished pop-isn look without reading so much as Britney specifically.  I also, by the way, fully support the validity of her relationship.  All that said, if I heard she was doing a Britney show near me, I'd be tempted to come out.

If I had more than $1.99 and a few buttons in my pocket, I would put money down that should they win, Alexis will face Vanjie, Jujubee will face Raven, Shea will face Sasha, and so on.  We probably only avoided India facing Mimi by a hair.

[Supagirl]

1 hour ago, 853fisher said:

If I had more than $1.99 and a few buttons in my pocket, I would put money down that should they win, Alexis will face Vanjie, Jujubee will face Raven, Shea will face Sasha, and so on.  We probably only avoided India facing Mimi by a hair.

I would pay good money to see Alexis vs. Vangie.  I would pay Vangie to come over and read the phone book to me.  She cracks me up every time she opens her mouth.

[belligerent]

I just listened to the two songs back to back to confirm and I now don't think they sound as much alike but Miz Cracker's song reminded me so much of Britney Spears' "Womanizer" that I was surprised Derrick didn't say something about someone doing a Britney song.

Of course, I also didn't realize that Willam's "Boy is a Bottom" was a parody of another song for a while, so maybe I'm overcompensating this time.

I wish they had shown more of them getting their acts ready. Some of them obviously had to involve other dancers for choreography and I wonder what difference that made in preparation. Are they also being scored on that? For example, did Alexis and India choreograph and teach their backup dancers? Did they make their own props and bring them or were they given the opportunity to work with the show's crew?

I'm also curious how the tip money rolling over is going to affect their strategies. As much as I dislike interpersonal drama, whether real or manufactured, I do enjoy watching strategy when everyone is on the same page that this is a game and not a contest of morality.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 6/6/2020 at 12:59 AM, zenithwit said:

Lastly, I'm sure I'll get used to the new rules but they seem kinda complicated.  Upon initial inspection, I wasn't sure why the winning queen would actually want to win the lip sync and create bad blood with a fellow queen.  Plus, the lip sync assassin gets an extra advantage of being able to tailor her outfit to the song (whereas the contestants' outfits will be tailored to the runway category).  But now knowing that the tip money rolls over each week, I'm sure the weekly winners will pull out all of the stops to win (especially as the cash prize exceeds 20-30 grand).

Yeah, when did Yvie find out what the song would be, so that she could tailor her makeup, hair and clothes to it, as well as her performance?  How long did India have? It seems like the "assassin" would have an advantage, even if the winning queen was allowed to change her outfit.

[Just Carol]

No doubt the assasins are given a particular song that suits their particular strengths.   Maybe will see Latrice delivering a power ballad, but not a pop song.

 Mariah looks very feminine-- did she look the same on her season?

 

[Rai]

Yes, Mariah's always looked pretty feminine in and out of drag. And of course, her legendary exit from a confessional interview had her muttering "Give me my pocketbook" or something similar. It was pretty great.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

7 hours ago, belligerent said:

wish they had shown more of them getting their acts ready. Some of them obviously had to involve other dancers for choreography and I wonder what difference that made in preparation. Are they also being scored on that? For example, did Alexis and India choreograph and teach their backup dancers? Did they make their own props and bring them or were they given the opportunity to work with the show's crew?

I have no behind the scenes info but professional dancers have to pick up choreography very quickly and what we saw them doing in Alexis and India’s performances was pretty simple. My guess is that Alexis and India showed them their prepared choreography the first day in the workroom and the back up dancers had a day to practice it.

3 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

Yeah, when did Yvie find out what the song would be, so that she could tailor her makeup, hair and clothes to it, as well as her performance?  How long did India have? It seems like the "assassin" would have an advantage, even if the winning queen was allowed to change her outfit.

If I recall correctly, on regular RPDR as well as All Stars the queens are given a list of all the possible lip sync songs in advance so that they can prepare. They don’t know beforehand which song will be used which week. The day of the challenge, they’re told which song will be the LSFYL so they can brush up.

Since the assassins need time to prepare costumes and make sure they’re available on the day of the lip sync, I’m guessing they were given the schedule of who is singing which specific song on each day of production. 

[swanpride]

Last season the ones picked for the lip sync had enough time to even change costume, which was used by a lot of them. So the only advantage the assassin has is that she has to learn only one song, while whoever has won needs to learn a song for every episode. But frankly, that is something a good entertainer should be able to do anyway.

I have to say it: While it will be fun to watch the assassins do their thing, I feel that the focus on the lip syncs is kind of ruining the show. There was a point at which the goal was to NOT lip sync.

[RoxiP]

I was just happy to see Yvie - her season was my first full season of Drag Race and she was my favorite - I think she looked great!

[Blakeston]

i was really shocked that Shea's performance was so weak. I was waiting for her to do something dramatic on that pole, and it just didn't happen.

She was an incredibly strong contender in season 9, and she's a very good dancer, but I'm starting to wonder how good she is at coming up with her own choreography. I saw her perform live at DC Pride one year, and her lip sync numbers were...fine, I guess? The dancing was top-notch, but the choreography really lacked that "wow" factor.

As far as Jujubee goes, she sounded great, but I'm convinced that what we heard were pre-recorded vocals - not what the audience actually heard. (I'm not saying this was some sort of conspiracy. I think there was probably an issue with the recording of her live performance, so the producers chose to just use a studio-produced track instead. It's a common enough practice on shows like this.)

Blair has explained that at the talent show, Jujubee got to sing along with a backing track of her own vocals, while Blair had to just sing all on her own. But at the same time, I don't think what we actually heard was a mixture of Juju's live voice with a backing track. That sounded like it was purely a studio version. (Her volume didn't even change at all when her mouth moved further from the microphone.)

Also, count me in as someone who thinks Mariah should have won.

[RoxiP]

Mariah's look reminded me of Nicki Doll - or perhaps Nicki Doll fashions her makeup style after Mariah (remember, this is all mostly new to me).  Regardless of whom looks like whom, it is a beautiful look.

[Keywestclubkid]

9 hours ago, swanpride said:

 

I have to say it: While it will be fun to watch the assassins do their thing, I feel that the focus on the lip syncs is kind of ruining the show. There was a point at which the goal was to NOT lip sync.

But to me  lipsyincinig is a huge part of being a drag queen normally so i kinda wanna see them do what they do... My one HUGE pet peeve with drag queens is when they don't know their words it just bugs the crap out of me .. there are so many (irl) that just come out and watermelon it through the whole song and act like they are the best thing since sliced bread ... yes you can flip and splits and that is great but you don't know your words .... that's pretty much your ONE job doing a lipsync . know the words...

Edited June 8, 2020 by Keywestclubkid

[Blakeston]

23 minutes ago, RoxiP said:

Mariah's look reminded me of Nicki Doll - or perhaps Nicki Doll fashions her makeup style after Mariah (remember, this is all mostly new to me).

Nicky is lovely, and has lovely clothes/wigs/makeup/etc., but her style has never struck me as very unique - so it wouldn't surprise me if it was the latter.

I don't think I've ever seen an RPDR contestant copy another queen's outfit as blatantly as Nicky copied Yvie's farm-to-runway dress for the ball.

[Not4Me]

2 hours ago, Blakeston said:

As far as Jujubee goes, she sounded great, but I'm convinced that what we heard were pre-recorded vocals - not what the audience actually heard. (I'm not saying this was some sort of conspiracy. I think there was probably an issue with the recording of her live performance, so the producers chose to just use a studio-produced track instead. It's a common enough practice on shows like this.)

Blair has explained that at the talent show, Jujubee got to sing along with a backing track of her own vocals, while Blair had to just sing all on her own. But at the same time, I don't think what we actually heard was a mixture of Juju's live voice with a backing track. That sounded like it was purely a studio version. (Her volume didn't even change at all when her mouth moved further from the microphone.)

Well if past All Stars has taught us anything, if you don’t have the range and volume that can sustain a live vocal, then best to rely on a pre-recorded track and lipsync it well. Ginger Minj was the only queen I can recall who technically knocked it out of the park, and she’s done musical theatre.

At least Blair didn’t sound like Phi Phi O’Hara live, lol. If you’re going to use singing as your only talent and it’s not for comedic purposes, then you better show it off well.
 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 8, 2020 by Not4Me

[Not4Me]

6 minutes ago, Not4Me said:

Ugh, double post.

Edited June 8, 2020 by Not4Me

[MsJamieDornan]

Am I confused, or did Ru gain a bit of weight? She really didn't look good in her dress.

[swanpride]

Quote

But to me  lipsyincinig is a huge part of being a drag queen

Except that it isn't. Take Bianca. Under the current rules she would have never won her season, she would have made it to the finale only to be out-danced there in the first round. Take Kim-Chi. Yes, being able to put on a show is important, but is what she is doing any less valid than what the so called lip-Sync assassins are doing? Take Violet, who CAN turn out a show if she has to, but he big talent is fashion, design and burlesque. He making splits on stage just wouldn't fit her brand.

I like it as one last ditch attempt to avoid elimination, because it is an opportunity to proof "yes, I have stage presence, yes, I am ready to give everything I have", but I don't like at the one winning factor. Drag Race is a very limiting view on Drag as it is, but the focus on lip syncing limits it even further. And makes the competition more boring, btw.

That's why I like those talent shows they do on all-stars. Usually it is a good opportunity to see what a show put on by the drag queen in question would look like.

[Keywestclubkid]

6 hours ago, swanpride said:

Except that it isn't. Take Bianca. Under the current rules she would have never won her season, she would have made it to the finale only to be out-danced there in the first round. Take Kim-Chi. Yes, being able to put on a show is important, but is what she is doing any less valid than what the so called lip-Sync assassins are doing? Take Violet, who CAN turn out a show if she has to, but he big talent is fashion, design and burlesque. He making splits on stage just wouldn't fit her brand.

I like it as one last ditch attempt to avoid elimination, because it is an opportunity to proof "yes, I have stage presence, yes, I am ready to give everything I have", but I don't like at the one winning factor. Drag Race is a very limiting view on Drag as it is, but the focus on lip syncing limits it even further. And makes the competition more boring, btw.

That's why I like those talent shows they do on all-stars. Usually it is a good opportunity to see what a show put on by the drag queen in question would look like.

But it traditionally is .... when you walk into 90% of drag shows at least over 75% of the girls will be lypsyincing and even Delrio has admitted this....If the girls who don't sing live have to sing live why would it be any different then making the girls who don't normally lipsync lipsync? just like the "spooky" queens have to do glam and the non comedy queens do comedy and the looks queens need to do something other then be pretty and the girls who normally don't MC (which was what DelRio does) MC etc etc... IT is a part of DRAG... yes the show highlights EVERY aspect of drag...

 

edit and Delrio does lipsync she might not jump around do splits or death drops (which to me isnt the point of a lipsync but that's another thing) which proves the point of needing to be a well rounded queen and able to do all aspects of drag if not well ..well at least ok (not saying her lipsync is bad at all) ......

 

Edited June 9, 2020 by Keywestclubkid

[joanne3482]

21 hours ago, Keywestclubkid said:

My one HUGE pet peeve with drag queens is when they don't know their words it just bugs the crap out of me .. there are so many (irl) that just come out and watermelon it through the whole song and act like they are the best thing since sliced bread ... yes you can flip and splits and that is great but you don't know your words .... that's pretty much your ONE job doing a lipsync . know the words...

I'm relatively new to Drag Race and am watching all the previous seasons. I just watched Coco Montrese point at her mouth while doing all the words in that quick portion of Straight Up by Paula Abdul. It was definitely impressive. This season is also where I learned the trick of doing spins if you don't know your words. So I agree. The production is good but it is lip syncing so that should be great.

I've not watched a previous season of All Stars. The twist seems overly complicated to me.  

[RoxiP]

10 hours ago, MsJamieDornan said:

Am I confused, or did Ru gain a bit of weight? She really didn't look good in her dress.

Either that or that was just one incredibly unflattering dress - a rare miss for RuPaul (well, except for those masks).

[AntManBee]

I am a Drag Race super geek and have been watching since Season 1 when I had to stream it the day after airing because parents wouldn't pay for premium gay channels like Logo.  I love seeing how the newer fans react to the show.  Ironically, Logo has very little gay programing on anymore... well, accept Mama's Family marathons, as Bubba had more than a hand in my gay youth...  But I digress. 

 

I like that JuJu and Alexis are both featured this season as they each have hold a rare title.  They are both undefeated at lip syncs.    Each placed 3rd in their seasons, in an era when the 3rd place Queen was cast aside in the finale *(likely because Ru knew they would slay the eventual winner in a battle...). 

On All Stars Season 1, JuJu won her lipsync against Manila, and was double-saved against Raven.  Meanwhile, Alexis, while she started her lipsync to Don't 'Cha, with her own flair, was tagged out by Yara Sofia.  I stand by the notion that because of Yara's inserting herself and flailing, Alexis is absolved of losing that lip-sync.  

Consequently, JuJu and Alexis are the two most assassiny of the lip sync assassins (who haven't won*.)

*I am not counting Adore or Courtney Act, as the Season 6 finale had a 3 way individual lip sync-off. 

[swanpride]

As I said, I don't mind the lip-sync as PART of the show, but I dislike it as sole arbiter for the win.

[gorgy]

2 hours ago, swanpride said:

As I said, I don't mind the lip-sync as PART of the show, but I dislike it as sole arbiter for the win.

I'm not sure what you expect from a gameshow, but it's not the sole arbiter. Challenge performance, which encompasses other areas of drag where individual talents can excel, as well as runway looks are what put a contestant on this game show in contention for winning. Also, lip syncing has been a major part of many, many, many drag performances since the 1950s, and it's likely the best way to decide between the top two on this game show since it's would be the most even playing field for the vast majority of drag queens. I'm not sure what else would be considered for the final challenge on this gameshow that would be fair as well as interesting to the viewing audience. It's like if I watch Top Chef and expected the last challenge to be based on ordering ingredients or monitoring safety standards rather than cooking a dish. It's tv - make it interesting.

[swanpride]

Since season 9 it is the deciding factor. You always have this dance battles, during which queens who are particularly limber have a clear advantage. Beforehand the top queens put on some sort of show and then Ru announced the decision, which was more "honest" because it was pretty clear that the decision was not just based on this last performance. And before that, there was a variety of "final challenges". You can't go back to this time, because some kind of show is expected at this point, but I don't see why the show has to always boil down to a lyp sync battle.